With the rise of Donald Trump, America’s racists are coming out of the woodwork in droves. They are also becoming increasingly violent. Yet another incident of racist violence comes to us from Iowa City, Iowa, where a man wearing a surgical mask attacked a black man. Authorities were called to the scene due to a fight, only to find out it was a racist attack.

The attacker, Andy Benavidez, 47, told police that the attack was racially motivated. Benavidez hurled racist epithets at his victim, all the while physically assaulting him. The most bizarre part of all was, of course, the surgical mask, and the suspect informed police that the reason for his wearing it was so that he wouldn’t be contaminated by black people germs.

Benavidez is facing assault charges for his crime, and thanks to the fact that he has admitted that he did it because he is a flaming racist, a hate crime charge will be attached as well.

This sort of thing will only get worse as people are given cause to spew their hatred and lash out in violence. It will only be a matter of time before this is a regular — and even expected — occurrence.

Author: Shannon BarberShannon Barber is a self- described queer feminist and activist for racial equality, LGBT rights, women’s rights, and secular rights in America. She is a lifelong lover of words, though her educational background is in computer science. She currently writes for 2 liberal websites, and keeps her own humor blog for lesbians. She hopes to change the world, one mind at a time.